• Question: How were the names of tablets invented eg Metformin,coleoremin,phenytoin,lamtoridge,folic acid

    Asked by ps_no1 to Hayley, Jimi on 18 Mar 2016.
    • Photo: Jimi Wills

      Jimi Wills answered on 18 Mar 2016:

      Most of them are made up by drug companies… and there’s no rhyme or reason to is.

      Many drugs are known by a commercial name, others by a generic name, but none of these are usually a standard chemical name.

      e.g.
      Paracetamol is known as acetaminophen in the USA, but the tablets are called Tylenol. The chemical name (that every scientist would be able to recognise) is n-(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethanamide.

      Folic acid is a common name of (2S)-2-[(4-{[(2-amino-4-hydroxypteridin-6-yl)methyl]amino}phenyl)formamido]pentanedioic acid.
      Even scientists just call it folic acid.

      Metformin is a recognised chemical name, but it’s also known as:Metformin; 1,1-Dimethylbiguanide; Glucophage; Glumetza; Dimethylbiguanide; Metiguanide;

      Colpermin is the name of a tablet that contain peppermint oil, and is suppose to help with IBS (your colon) — colon peppermint -> colpermin

      phenytoin is 5,5-diphenylhydantoin, and more accurate chemical name for hydantoin is glycolylurea, so phenytoin is more accurately described as 5,5-diphenylglycolylurea

      This chemical name describes exactly what the chemical looks like. But the names companies put on tablets is just to try and outsell the competition.

      And the chemical name of Lamotrigine is 6-(2,3-Dichlorophenyl)-1,2,4-triazine-3,5-diamine.

      You can see why they make up easier names.

    • Photo: Hayley Moulding

      Hayley Moulding answered on 18 Mar 2016:

      Usually when tablets are made they have lots of different names. They have a name which is given to them by the chemist. This will be really really long and difficult. To a chemist, metformin is called ‘N,N-Dimethylimidodicarbonimidic diamide,.’ That’s really hard to say!!! So when the tablet is developed and is going to be sold to the general public, they change the name to a ‘trade name.’ This is something like ‘metformin!’ The reason they use these specific names is a bit of a mystery to me! Sometimes the ‘trade name’ changes between country too. I presume the name will have something to do with how it works and what kind of drug it is. A lot of anti-inflammatories have ‘-fen’ at the end of their name like ibuprofen!

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